


Read My Mind

by hellowkatey



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bounty Hunters, F/M, FebuWhump2021, Hostage Situations, Hurt No Comfort, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Whump, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29214180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellowkatey/pseuds/hellowkatey
Summary: Satine and Obi-Wan are overrun by bounty hunters while at the market.(part 1/2)[Febuwhump day 5: "take me instead"]
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Satine Kryze, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138259
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Read My Mind

Obi-Wan could feel them before he saw them. Bounty hunters lurking in the shadows, stalking him and Satine as they walk through the busy market. He grabs Satine's arm above the elbow. 

"Obi wha-"

"We need to go." 

She looks up at him, her crisp blue eyes looking into his as though she can read his thoughts-- sometimes he thinks she can. She nods, and he guides her swiftly from the main stretch. He senses them at the main chokepoints, probably hoping to catch them as they leave. Obi-Wan has a feeling they aren't monitoring the less accessible methods of exiting the market, though. They cut down a tight path between a fruit and a leather stall. Both of them have to turn sideways in order to fit between the buildings, but Obi-Wan moves his hand from her elbow to intertwining his fingers with hers. To make sure she stays near him. 

"How many?"

"At least four." 

"Is this a way out?"

"Oh no, I felt like taking us to a dead end so we can be promptly trapped and captured," Obi-Wan replies dryly. 

They emerge into the back alley which is much less crowded than the main market. 

"Can we call Master Jinn for help?" 

Obi-Wan swallows hard. Maybe they could... if his commlink hadn't been pickpocketed off him nearly as soon as they entered the market. He hadn't yet told Satine this fact, embarrassed that he somehow managed to be distracted enough to allow someone to steal his communication device. 

"If I had my commlink..."

"If?" she stops, looking at him with that accusatory face. "So we're flying blind?" 

"We're not flying blind, _I'm_ here,"

"Oh right."

He still holds her hand, pulling her closer to his side in a playful nudge. Even when they're in certain danger he can't help the smile across his face as he tries his best to feign outrage.

"I'm more than capable of protecting you!" 

"We're really testing that theory as of late, aren't we, Ben?" she says with a wry smile. 

Obi-Wan _is_ confident they can get out of this. They just need to get out of the market and make a break for their camp to warn Qui-Gon. He noted an old farmhand's entrance when they arrived-- boarded up, but with old rotting wood that he knows his lightsaber will be able to cut right through if it doesn't come right off with a simple tug. He continuously scans the area as they swiftly weave through the backstreets. Obi-Wan can't deny the feeling of _danger_ is steadily growing by the second. 

He lets the pit in his stomach fester until he sees the passageway he saw earlier come into view. Obi-Wan lets go of Satine's hand and jogs ahead, prying on the wooden planks. The first comes off easily and he throws it to the ground at his side to get started on the others. As he pulls the next plank off, a chill runs down his spine. In his mind's eye, he sees it before it happens.

Obi-Wan shifts his grip to the end of the piece of wood and whirls around, putting as much force behind the swing as he can before smashing it into the head of the bounty hunter that is still in the midst of recovering from his jump from the rooftops. He staggers to the side in surprise, grabbing for his blaster, but Obi-Wan's lightsaber is out in an instant. 

"Satine!" he yells, seeing a flash of blonde hair in the corner of his vision. The next moment he feels her hand brush against his waist as she lets him step in front of her.

" _Not_ leading us to a dead-end, huh?" 

Obi-Wan blocks a blaster shot that comes from above, jetting one hand out to press her tighter behind the shield of his body. 

"Is this _really_ the time? Work on that door." 

The one he took out at the beginning now has regained his footing, pulling out a long knife. As Obi-Wan has to deflect a shower of blasters from now _two_ bounty hunters on the rooftops, the other slides across the ground below the blade of his saber and nearly drives it into the padawan's stomach. Obi-Wan has to twist uncomfortably to get out of the way, his back ramming into the wall beside the door. Satine looks at him with wide eyes, still pulling at the third wooden plank. Seeing her ignites his energy once again and he jumps back into action. 

This time he manages to deflect a number of blaster shots back perfectly. He hears groans of pain, one falling from the rooftop and hitting the ground with a solid _thud_. The bounty hunter doesn't move. Through the Force, he can feel the life presence of the other fade into nothing. His attention goes back to the knife-wielder, who looks shaken by the two that now lie dead. Still, he lunges forward, and Obi-Wan reacts accordingly. He twirls his lightsaber to slice off the blade of the knife, but that doesn't stop the bounty hunter from pulling out a blaster with his other hand. At point-blank, there is nothing the Jedi can do besides slice off his hand completely, and so he does. A horrible scream fills the alleyway as the bounty hunter's arm drops from his body at the elbow. It takes only a few moments for his consciousness to leave him as well. 

He thought it was over, but a whimper behind him makes his stomach drop with the realization.

Obi-Wan turns around to see the fourth has finally made an appearance. He holds Satine tight against his chest, a blaster against her temple, and a sinister grin on his face. 

He's a Kiffar man, with dark skin and hair similar to Obi-Wan's friend Quinlan. Geometric red tattoos cross his face like a mask over his eyes, with more up both of his arms. "I must thank you for taking care of my competition for me. You've just grown my pocketbook considerably, Jedi child." 

"But you forget, now, it is two against one," Obi-Wan says, holding his lightsaber up in a ready position. The Kiffar just chuckles. 

"You forget I have a blaster to your girlfriend's head," he presses it harder for good measure, making Satine cringe in pain. "So what's going to happen is, I am going to take her and get my money. And you won't be following me. Unless you want her death on your hands." 

He considers his options. If he makes any aggressive moves, he will kill Satine. If he lets him take her, they will lose her before he can get to their ship and find Qui-Gon. He swallows hard, his eyes flickering to the terrified woman. She looks at him with pleading eyes. Expecting something. Expecting a plan. He told her he would protect her, and now she has a gun to her head. He messed up this time, and now he must fix it.

Obi-Wan knows what he must do. 

He raises his other hand slowly, deactivating his lightsaber, and letting it drop into the street. 

"Take me instead," Obi-Wan says, keeping his hands up in surrender.

"Obi... no," Satine says in a low voice.

The bounty hunter cocks his head in intrigue. Obi-Wan has a feeling he knows where he is going with this. 

"And why should I?" 

"I assume you know all of our bounties. I also assume you are a smart man. You let your counterparts take the brunt of the fight while you laid in wait. You looked for the greatest reward for the least risk. You only have the ability to take one of us to not be outnumbered and risk losing both of us." 

He smirks. "Out with it boy." 

"You saw the damage I did alone, and I am only a student. My Master has the power and training to take out ten of you without breaking a sweat, and us together, we can take down twice that. So take me. You eliminate the possibility of having two Jedi coming after you, and you will get a better bounty from the Jedi Temple for my return than your employer wants for some runaway of a clan leader they are going to kill anyway." 

Oh, Satine is _angry_. He can feel her outrage through the Force, but also her sadness. Because she knows, as Obi-Wan and the bounty hunter do, that he is right. 

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" 

Obi-Wan's lips press into a thin line. "If you take me, and do not hurt her, I will not fight you. I will leave my weapon, and come willingly. Just..." he looks into Satine's wide eyes. "do not harm her." 

There are a million other things he wants to say as he looks at her struggling against the grip of the bounty hunter. Some that he can't say because it will reveal too much of him and some things he can't say because he hasn't yet figured out how to actually admit them to himself. But in the split second they have before the Kiffar makes his decision, a look is enough. He looks at her as though she _can_ hear the things that run through his mind whenever he thinks about her. A part of him has always hoped that maybe she does have those mind-reading powers they often joke about because then she would know the internal tug-of-war raging within him. She would know that love is currently winning, and he has no idea how to come to terms with that. 

The bounty hunter doesn't reply, but he does throw a pair of electrocuffs into the dirt at Obi-Wan's feet. 

"Put them on, Jedi child." 

"No!" Satine bellows as he leans down to scoop up the shackles. "Don't do this," 

Obi-Wan doesn't reply. He _can't_ if he's being honest. He just looks back at her teary eyes with his deepest sympathies. _I'm sorry_ , he projects to her. She doesn't have to be Force-sensitive to feel his regret for putting her in this situation. 

He steps into the body piece and pulls it around his waist, and then slips the cuffs on, tight around his wrists. When he holds up to confirm they are secure, the bounty hunter activates the electric field and throws Satine roughly into the street, ordering her to stay put.

"Let's go then," he says, tugging at the cuffs. Obi-Wan looks down at Satine, using everything within him to not fall to his knees beside her and draw him into his arms one last time. 

"It'll be okay, my darling," he says as he is forced to pass right by her. _I love you and will return to you._

"If you aren't dead by the time I get you back, you will soon be," she says, wiping away a tear. 

He smiles through the thickness growing in his throat. "I will make sure you have the honor." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried, but I can't just leave a cliffhanger. Part 2 coming soon!


End file.
